Outlet connector head



Dec. 26, 1950 G. A. MEAD OUTLET CONNECTOR HEAD F11-ed June 21, 194eInventor Patented Dec. 26, 1950 f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,535,150OUTLET CONNECTOR HEAD George A. Mead, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to TheOhio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey 11Claims.

My invention relates to parkway cable outlet heads whereby a parkwaycable may be connected to track wires which in turn are connected to oneor more rails.

The outlet head is usually secured to the upper or outer end of anupright pipe or standard through which the parkway cable is brought tothe head whereby connection may be made to the track Wires whichconstitute a part of the signal system and which may be secured to theoutlet head.

My invention permits not only securely connecting the parkway cableconductor mechanically to the track Wires as by clamping but in additionpermits making Vthe connection by means of solder.

Another object of myinvention is to permit attaching the track wires tothe head and bringing the ends into a solder cavity or receptaclewithout bending the wires since these wires are very ofteninade of verystiff individual wires as for instance when made of silicon or phosphorcopper, etc., and which produces a very` stiff and resilient wire orcable.

The conductor of the parkway cable is usually a single wire of copperwhich is easily bent as required.

My invention resides in the embodiment shown in the accompanyingdrawing, described in the specification and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims: further objects and advantages will be readilyrecognized from the detailed description and drawing wherein- Y Fig. 1is a side View in partial section of one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top View in partial section of Fig.. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation in partial section of another embodiment ofmy invention.

Fig. 4 is a top plan View in partial sectionof Fig. 3.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. l and 2, a head I is provided adaptedto be mounted on the upper end of a standard 2. The head comprises asleeve or collar portion 3 and a body or cover portion 4 closing `oneend of the sleeve to form an inverted cup shaped member. The sleeve issplit on one side forming a slot 5 and is spaced from the body portion 4for a portion of its circumference forming a slot 6 intersecting theslot 5.

Projecting laterally from the sleeve 3 are spaced lugs 1 which areintegral withrthe sleeve on each side of the slot 5 and the lugs areprovided With registering openings `through which extend a fasteningdevice such as bolt and nut 8.

The construction of the head as above described permits adjusting thediameter of the Opening to clamp the head onto the standard 2.

interposed between the standard 2 and head I including the sleeve 3 andbody portion 4 is an insert 9 of insulating material such as thin fibertubing with a side wall I and turned over end or iiange Il against whichthe end of the standard may rest. The iiange I I may extend entirelyaround the side wall I0. This insert insures the head I being insulatedfrom the standard 2 or ground.

In order to mechanically secure or clamp the track wires to the head alug I2 is provided which projects above the exposed face I3 of the bodyportion 4 and has a threaded opening to receive the cap bolt I4.

The upper surface of the lug I2 is provided with grooves I5 to receivethe track wires I6. Mounted on the lug I2 is a clamp I1 provided alsowith grooves I8 for the track wires and an opening through which the capbolt I4 extends.

The clamping mechanism is shown with one bolt I4 and the grooves for thetrack wires pass on opposite sides of the bolt which spreads the trackwires apart the width at least of that of the bolt shank but if desiredto bring the track wires nearer together it is evident that two bolts I4spaced apart may be used with lthe grooves and wires between them.

In order to secure the conductor I9 of the parkway cable 2Il to the headand electrically connect to the track wires, an opening 2| extendsthrough the body portion 4. The conductor I9 is brought through theopening 2I and under the clamp il along side of the bolt I4 or may besecured between the bolt head and `clamp I'I.

In order to electrically connect the conductor I9 to the track wires I6by solder in order to in- Sure additional efiiciency, a solder cavity orreceptacle 22 is provided and which projects from the sleeve 3 andclosing portion 4. While shown diametrically opposite to the lugs l, thereceptacle may project from the head at another point if found moreconvenient but not to restrict the clamping of the sleeve.

The receptacle 22 is provided with side and end walls 23 and a bottomwall 24. The side and bottom walls are integrally united to the sleeve 3and body or cover portion 4 but to make this attachment more secure arib 25 is provided formed integral with the sleeve 3 and bottom wall 24.

The track Wires or cables I6 are very 'often made 0i metal which is verystili and resilient and to bend the same is not an easy job, thereforethe bottom wall of the receptacle is made sloping such that its uppersurface 25 and the upper surface of the lug I2 rest in a common planeobliquely disposed to the upper surface i3 of the body 4 also obliquelydisposed to the longitudinal axis of the standard 2 which is usuallymounted in a vertical position.

By this construction of the receptacle and lug I2 the receptacle isshallow at one end and sufiiciently deep at the other end to receive theends of the track wires or cables and to receive suiiicient solder tocover the ends of the wires 1G.

The angle of the bottom wall 24 and lug lace may be that which is foundmost desirable. By bringing the track wires closer together as pointedout above, the width of the cavity 26 may be reduced thus decreasing theamount of solder required.

The end of the conductor I9 is bent so that it extends into the cavity26 and covered by the solder and thereby securely connected to the trackwires IG.

In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a reverse arrangement of the receptacle andclamping means from that of Figs. 1 and 2.

Here the head 5l is adapted for application to a vertically disposedstandard 52 and the head is provided with a collar or sleeve portion 53and body or closing portion 54 therefor. is provided with a slot 55 andthe sleeve is spaced from the body portion by a slot 56 which intersectswith the slot 55 and lends flexibility to the sleeve.

The spaced lugs 51 are secured to the sleeve on each side of the slot 55and by means of the bolt and nut 58 extending through the lugs, thesleeve may be clamped to the end of the standard.

Interposed between the head and standard is an insert 59 of insulatingmaterial comprising` a side wall or sleeve 60 with an inturned flange 6|against which the end of the standard may rest in insulated relation tothe head.

The above Ydescription of Figs. 3 and Ll follows that of Figs. 1 and 2.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the body portion is provided with an open top cavity orreceptacle 62 projecting downward into the sleeve portion of the head.The receptacle is formed with side and end walls 63 and a sloping bottomwall 54.

Projecting laterally from the head is a lug 66 formed integral with thesleeve and closing portions of the head. The lug 66 is provided in itsupper face with grooves 31 to receive track wires or cables 68 and aclamping member G9 with cooperating grooves 10 is positioned on theupper face of the lug.

A cap bolt 'Il extends through the clamp E9 and into a threaded openingin the lug (i6 whereby the track wires positioned in the grooves may 'besecured to the head.

The upper ace of the lug 66 and the upper face of the bottom wall 64 arepreferably in the same Aplane obliquely disposed to the upper or outerface of the body portion and to the longitudinal axis or axis ofrotation of the standand or head.

The conductor I2 of the parkway cable 73 is brought through the opening14 in the cover portion 54 and 'then under the bolt head 1I or betweenthe clamping member 69 and lug 56 and then bent so that its end ispositioned in the cavity 62.

Solder may be poured into the cavity of receptacle 62 after the wiresand conductor arel properly placed thus making a secure electricalconnection therebetween.

The constructions herein described and shown in Figs. l to 4 inclusivehave a decided advantage over those constructions of outlet heads of theprior art in that, there are no openings or orices through any sidewalls, the only application of the conductor and wires is through thetop opening to the cavity of the receptacle.

Where the bottom of the receptacle is horizontal, to bring the trackwires through openings in the side Wall requires very exactingconstruction with respect to the diameter of the side openings and thatof the wires or cables in order that the wires may be entered and alsothat the openings are not too large so that the molten solder may runout through the enlarge-:l openmg.

The track wires or cables are brought away from the tracks horizontallyand since they are very often formed from metal which is stii andresilient such as silicon or phosphor copper or even high strengthsteel, it is difficult to bend the ends of such wires so as to insertthe ends into the top opening of a receptacle which has no openingsthrough the side walls and to provide clamping means therefor.

Therefore the clamping means is placed with its clamping faces obliquelydisposed to the horizontal and to the vertical or longitudinal axis ofrotation of the standard or head and so positioned relative to thereceptacle that the ends of the wires may be entered in the cavity ofthe receptacle.

The slope of the clamping faces is made as small as possible relative tothe horizontal in order to require bending the wires as little aspossible.

As the track wires enter the receptacle on an angle through the topopening thereof, the bottom wall of the receptacle is angled in order toreduce the cavity to only that required in order to reduce the amount ofsolder` required to a minimum.

It is found that the clamping surfaces and the bottom Wall of thereceptacle may have the same slope and that the track Wires may be.brought into the receptacle along the bottom surface of the cavity.Therefore the plane of one clamping surface and the plane of the surfaceof the bottom wall of the cavity of the receptacle may be the same orsubstantially so.

In Figs. 1 and 3 the deep end of the receptacle is shown as greater thanthe diameter of the cables but this depth need not be greater than thecable diameter as that will Vallow for suiiicient solder also the cablesmay enter the clamp and the receptacle side by side as described abovewhich will reduce the width of the receptacle cavity.

The receptacle is shown as a projection in Fig. 1 and this permits atorch ame to be applied thereto if desired without applying the name tothe entire head as in Fig.. l3.

If one clamping surface and the receptacle bottom are in exact alignmentand substantially a continuation of each other there will 'be ,nobending of the Wires `IG and A6.8 within the limits of the device,however, these surfaces may be somewhat out of alignment and stillfunction within the spirit of my invention especially if ,the plane ofthe clamping surface should be slightly higher than that of thereceptacle bottom. The plane of the .opening `into the receptacle inboth Figs. 1 and 3 does not extend above the plane of the top face ofthe head I and 5I re- This permits a low and compact .and to connect tothe conductors and which is economicalto manufacture as the only machin--ing defined is theV threading for the clamping bolts I4 and 1I and thismay be avoided by proper coring and the use of a bolt and nut in placeof the threaded cap bolts I4 and I I.

The head is usually galvanized or coated with Zinc or. may be timed,which permits the solder to unite with the coating especially in thecase of Figs. l and 2 where a torch may be applied to the receptacle.

While the head is shown as applied to an upright hollow standard such asa pipe, the body or cover portion may be adapted for application to asubstantially horizontal surface or support.

Having disclosed my invention what I claim is:

l.l A connector comprising, a body and means ,to secure it to a support,an open top receptacle having intact walls to receive solder metal,conductor holding means to secure the conductor to posed to the plane ofthe upper surface of the body and the plane of, one clamping surface andthe plane of the receptacle bottom being in substantial alignmentwhereby the conductor may enter the receptacle through the top openingof the receptacle without substantial bend to the conductor, the planeof the said top opening substantially coinciding with the plane of theupper surface of the body.

j 2. A parkway cable outlet, comprising a head having a closing portion,a yieldable sleeve portion to receive a standard, means to insulate theoutlet from the standard, means to draw the sleeve 4into clampingrelation to the standard, an open top receptacle of varying depthintegrally formed with the sleeve portion and projecting laterally fromthe outlet for receiving soldering metal, the bottom, side and end wallsbeing intact, conductor holding means projecting from the closingportion to hold the conductor with its end extending into the receptaclethrough its top opening, the holding means securing the conductor inposition with its axis obliquely disposed to the upper face of theclosing portion and the plane of the bottom wall of the receptacleobliquely disposed to the plane of the upper face of the closing portionwith the shallow end at the body member adjacent the holding means.

3. An outlet head comprising a body, means to secure the body to asupport, the body provided with an open top cavity to receive moltensolder metal, the cavity formed with walls free from openings and thebottom wall sloping upward whereby the cavity is deeper at one end thanat the other end, holding means associated with the body and projectinglaterally therefrom adjacent the shallow end of the cavity to secure aconductor to the body with its end projecting into the cavity.

4. A parkway cable outlet, comprising a hollow standard to receive acable, a head mounted on an end of the standard, the head comprising abody member and means to secure the body to the standard to close theend of the standard, insulating means interposed between the standardand head,- the head provided with an open top solder receivingreceptacle vintegral withv fand projecting laterally from the side'oftheV body and deeper at one end than at the other end, the deeper endspaced from the body member-and the receptacle positioned below theupper -iace of the said closing means, a conductor holding meansadjacent the shallow end of the receptacle whereby one or moreconductors may be secured in positions relative to the receptacle andproject into the receptacle through its top opening the closing meansand conductor holding means provided with means whereby the end of theconductor of the parkway -cable may be entered in the receptacle.

5. A parkway cable outlet comprising a closing portion and a sleeveportion to receive a vertically disposed standard, the closing portionhaving an outer surface at right angles to the vertical aXis of thesleeve portion, means to insulate the outlet from the standar-d, meansrto secure the sleeve in holding relation to the standard, an open topreceptacle formed integral with the sleeve and projecting laterally fromthe sleeve to receive soldering metal and the conductors to beconnected, the bottom wall of the receptacle being obliquely disposed tothe vertical axis of the sleeve portion with the upper end of the bottomwall at the upper surface of the closing portion, the side and end andbottom walls of the receptacle being free of openings, conductor holdingmeans projecting from the upper surface of the closing portion andhaving clamping surfaces to receive the conductor therebetween and holdit with its end positioned in the deep end of the receptacle, theclamping surface having the same slope relative to the said verticalaxis of the sleeve portion as the said bottom wall and one clampingsurface being continuous with the upper surface of the said bottom wall,and the closing portion provided with an opening through which to passthe conductor of a parkway cable from within the standard. v

6. An outlet head comprising a rbody having a side and a top wall andmeans to secure the body portion to a support, an open top solderreceiving receptacle integrally formed with and projecting laterallyfrom the side wall of the body portion, the receptacle having a recessdeeper at one end than at the other end with the shallow end at the sidewall adjacent the top wall, a conductor receiving means associated withthe head and having conductor receiving surfaces sloping toward thereceptacle with the plane of one surface common with the plane of theinner surface of the bottom wall of the recess whereby the conductor maybe securely held in position relative to the receptacle with the end ofthe conductor extending into the recess of the receptacle. through thetop opening of the receptacle.

7. A connector comprising a head having a closing portion for mountingon a support and means to secure the closing portion to the support, theconnector provided with an open top solder receptacle to receive theends of a plurality of conductors to be electrically connected by thesolder in the receptacle, the walls of said receptacle being positionedbelow the plane of the outer face of the closing portion and the planeof the inner surface of the bottom wall being obliquely disposed to thesaid plane of the outer face of the closing portion, clamping meansmounted on the outer face of the closing portion and having conductorreceiving surfaces the planes of which are obliquely disposed to theplane of the outer face of the closing portion, the plane 'of the bottomwall being common with the plane of one of the conductor receivingsurfaces.

8. An outlet head adapted to be secured to a support comprising aclosing portion, the closing portion provided with means to secure it tothe support and also with an open top solder receiving receptacleprojecting laterally from the closing portion, the receptacle beingdeeper at the vend remote from the closing portion than at the other endand having walls free from side openings, the plane of the outer face ofthe said top opening of the receptacle being substantially co extensivewith the plane of the outer face of the closing portion, a conductorreceiving means associated with the closing portion at a point adjacentthe receptacle whereby a conductor may be secured in position relativeto the receptacle with the end of the conductor extending into thereceptacle through the top opening thereof,

9. A parkway cable outlet, comprising a head with a cover portion, meanswhereby the portion may be secured to a support, an open top re-Lceptacle forming an integral part of the outlet and projecting laterallytherefrom for receiving solder metal, the receptacle having its side,bottom and end walls intact and the plane of the upper face of the saidside and end walls and the plane of the outer face of the cover portionsubstantially coinciding and the said bottom wall sloping upward towardthe cover portion and the Said top opening, a conductor holding meansprojecting upwardly from the cover portion and provided with a pair ofclamping surfaces, the holding means being so constructed and arrangedrelative to the receptacle that the end of a conductor may be secured bythe clamping surface ofthe holding means may extend into the receptacle,and the cover portion provided with an opening through which to pass theconductor of a parkway cable.

10. A connector comprising a body portion and means to secure it to asupport, an open top re ceptacle associated with the body portion andadapted to receive molten solder metal and also to receive the ends of aplurality of conductors to il be electrically connected together andsecured to 8 the connector, clamping means to mechanically secure theconductorsr to the connector, the receptacle having two intact side andonly one intact end Wall and a bottom wall obliquely disposed to thelongitudinal axis of rotation of the body portion and its securingmeans, the clamping means having a wire receiving Asurface obliquelydisposed to the said axis of the body portion, the inner surface of thebottom wall being coextensive with the wire receiving surface of theclamping means. y 11. An article of manufacture comprising head toconnect a plurality of conductors and having a plate-like closingportion and a projecting portion to secure it to a support, the headalso provided with a receptacle means to receive solder metal and theends of a plurality of conductors, the receptacle providedwith a bottomwall and closed end and side walls, the head also provided with holdingmeans having a conductor clamping surface to receive and secure theconductors to the head with the ends thereof in the receptacle, one ofthe said means positioned be'- low and the other said means positionedabove the plane of the upper surface of the plate-'like closing portionand the plane of the inner s`u`x"- face of the bottom wall and the planeof the clamping surface each being obliquely disposed to the said planeof the upper surface of the plate like portion.

GEORGE A.

CES CITED The following references are of record in th i'ile of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,801,269 Edmunds Apr. 21, 19311,887,249 Snyder Nov. 8, 1932 2,109,616 Gort Mar. 1, 1938 2,146,462 BoneFeb. 7, 1989 2,209,912 Deems July 30, 1940 2,262,226 Flath Nov. 1l, 19412,426,157 Smith Aug. 19, 1947

